Reel Affirmations: The Nation's LGBT Film Festival 2008

Saturno Contro In contemporary Rome, a group of 30- and 40-something friends has formed an open family that gathers around the kitchen table of committed partners Lorenzo & Davide, a successful author, for gourmet meals full of gossip, friendly jibes and the tender weight of long-term friendships. Glamorous, wealthy and at the height of their careers, the group includes Davide's ex Sergio (Ennio Fantastichini); Antonio (Stefano Accorsi) and Angelica (Margherita Buy) a married couple with kids; drug addict Roberta (Ambra Angiolini); bitter Neval (Serra Yilmaz) and her policeman husband (Filippo Timi). When their beloved Davide has a heart attack at the table, the group takes turns waiting outside his hospital room, and the little secrets and tensions among them begin to magnify and undermine their relationships. Grappling with infidelity, melancholy, resentment and grief, the group's stability and intimacy seems threatened as long-dormant feelings resurface and new insecurities see the light of day. The emotional turmoil hidden under genuine feelings of love and comraderie adds a layer of humanity to this beautiful film, where all the characters seemingly stepped out of Italian Vogue. Awards: David di Donatella Award, Best Supporting Actress Ambra Angiolini Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists: Best Actress Margherita Buy Best Screenplay, Ferzan Ozpetek and Gianni Romoli

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that 'Save Me' is up there with 'Brokeback Mountain' as one of the most powerful gay dramas of recent years." - Time Out London Save Me, starring Chad Allen (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman), Judith Light (Ugly Betty), and Robert Grant (Queer as Folk) , features a nuanced look at both sides of the most polarizing religious and sexual debate in America: the conflict - and possible reconciliation - between homosexuality and Christianity. Mark (Chad Allen) is young, high, and heading nowhere fast. After a particularly nasty binge, his family intervenes and checks him into an isolated Christian retreat dedicated to "curing" men of their homosexuality. The compassionate couple running the shelter, Gayle (Light, in a particularly moving role) and Ted, refrain from the fire and brimstone most often associated with religious right. As a new resident, Mark is paired with Scott (Robert Grant) and a friendship soon develops between the two men, a friendship that deepens into a full-fledged secret romance. However, in the cloistered world of Genesis House, secrets aren't kept for long, and the two men slowly are confronted with a number of sobering choices to make. As the men struggle with their increasing attraction to each other, Gayle and Ted are encountering their own obstacles - as they are forced to confront their own faith and values. Powerful and restrained performances and a provocative yet believeable plot bring light to this contentious subject. Like the recent documentary FOR THE BIBLE TELLS ME SO, SAVE ME offers healing, clarity and understanding to anyone caught in the crosshairs of scripture and sexual identity. Opening Night Film, Outfest 2007 Closing Night Film, Newfest 2008

Ha-Sodot Naomi is a brilliant young woman who begs to be allowed to attend religious school in order to avoid a marriage. Michelle, rebellious and fun-loving, has been sent to the school by her French parents in the hope that she will become more devout, or at least stay out of serious trouble. Unlikely friends, the pair soon bond, but another woman threatens to tear the friendship apart. Anouk, an ailing older woman with a dark and troubled past, is seeking redemption, but rejected by the religious community's powers that be. In an act of compassion, Michelle volunteers Naomi, whose scholarship and depth of knowledge are unassailable, to find kabbalistic texts that will cleanse Anouk's soul. Naomi is initially horrified by Michelle's commitment, but intellectual curiosity and her own burgeoning empathy spur her on. As the friends learn more about this enigmatic woman, they break more rules to assist her, finally accepting that they will risk their futures to free her from her past. In the meantime, Naomi and Michelle embark on an adventure of their own - falling in love and finally deciding to act upon their feelings for each other. A loving and tender relationship ensues, but familial and religious pressure soon mounts on the girls and they must decide whether their feelings, or their families, will prevail. French & Hebrew with English subtitles

Free At Five The Sensei The Sensei is an ambitious, genre-bending indie feature that touches on AIDS hysteria, religious intolerance, misogyny, racism and homophobia - all woven together with plenty of ass-kicking martial arts. McClain (whose story echoes Matthew Shepard's) is a high school student ostracized and tormented for being gay. His community is gripped by fear and hate, and the general consensus is that AIDS is a punishment for a sinful, gay lifestyle. After McClain is severely beaten by classmates, he forms an unlikely bond with Karen, a martial arts expert who secretly becomes his sensei and teaches McClain how to defend himself. All assumptions are questioned as the story twists through KarenÂ's and McClain's past. And, perhaps controversially, while McClain is explicitly being taught to defend himself, we get to see the tables turned and violence being fought off with violence. True to the filmÂ's martial arts roots, questions of honor and the plight of the defenseless are at the heart of the film and explored from many perspectives. The Sensei was written and directed by veteran stunt-actress and martial artist D. Lee Inosanto, who also stars as Karen and who has crafted a story meant to clearly connect the multiple forms of bigotry that continue to plague our culture.

Who could have guessed that a dynamic, dom leather hustler would, years later, be recognized as one of our leading safe sex experts? At the forefront of the sexual revolution, New York in the late '70s seemed a mecca for gay men as they reveled in their newfound freedoms. Richard Berkowitz eagerly dove into the frenzy, quickly discovering (and cashing in on) his talents as an S&M top. But the era of guiltless pleasure crashed quickly as the AIDS epidemic began. Wild accusations flew in the media and on the streets, speculation about the disease's cause became contentious, and the government's refusal to work towards a cure sparked protests and rallies. After contracting the illness himself, Berkowitz and a tiny group of others came to the inexorable conclusion that gay men's lifestyles were at least partially responsible for their plight. He wrote a book charging that the culture's rampant drug use, partying and sexual promiscuity contributed heavily to the disease's spread. The backlash was swift: Berkowitz and his supporters were labeled self-hating and sex negative. Despite his continued efforts to educate on the necessity of safe sex, he was mercilessly chastised, unfairly labeled an anti-pleasure crusader and, eventually, all but forgotten. Sex Positive unflinchingly tracks Berkowitz's progression from cocky S&M hustler to angry activist to broken but proud harbinger of a message too volatile, scary and true to be heard. Community Partners: HIPS and DC Radical Faeries

They say that when someone comes out of the closet, they can't stop talking about it. Vancouver filmmaker Gwen Haworth not only talked... she made a movie. Using archival family footage, interviews, phone messages, and animation, Haworth's documentary She's a Boy I Knew begins in 2000 with Steven Haworth's decision to come out to his family about his life-long female gender identity. The resulting tale is not only an exploration into the filmmaker's process of transition from biological male to female, from Steven to Gwen, but also an emotionally charged account of the individual experiences, struggles, and stakes that her two sisters, mother, father, best friend and wife brought to Gwen's transition. Under Haworth's sensitive eye, each stepping stone in the process of transitioning becomes an opportunity to explore her community's and our own underlying assumptions about gender and sexuality. When Steven starts to wear his wife Malgosia's clothing, she struggles with whether Steve "wants to be with me or to be me;" when Steven changes her name to Gwen, her father comments, that's "when I realized I lost my son;" Haworth's gender reassignment surgery forces her sister Kim to grapple with her own experiences in the medical establishment and raises questions about the implications of the medicalization of gender. In these tender and difficult moments, She's a Boy I Knew forces us to question our own assumptions about the role that names, clothing, and anatomy play in our constructions of gender identity. As her transition progresses, Gwen is forced to reckon with the end of her marriage and the loss of her status as son and brother. But in doing so, she also discovers that while the nature of personal relationships may change, the love and support present within those relationships can remain just as powerful and sometimes even more so. Awards: Audience Award for Documentary - image+nation: Montreal Int'l LGBT Film Festival Best of the Festival Audience Award - Kingston's ReelOut9 Queer Film + Video Festival Runner Up - Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Film Competition - Cleveland International Film Festival Community Hero Award - Visual Artist of the Year - Xtra West Best Screenwriting in a Documentary - Leo Awards - British Columbia Film & Television Awards Audience Award for Documentary - Inside Out - Toronto Honourable Mention - Best Canadian Feature-Length Narrative or Documentary - Inside Out - Toronto Audience Award for Best Documentary - Fairy Tales Int'l Gay & Lesbian Film Festival - Calgary

Boy meets girl. Girl takes boy to club. Boy meets boy. Boy takes girl to grocery store. Touching Brazilian tale about lights, laughter, and lust. Or could it be love?

Finally! A film with three strong female leads - each delivering a stunning and nuanced performance of a woman faced with profound changes in her life. In Steam, Kate Siegel (The OC) plays Elizabeth, a college co-ed who comes of age by breaking free of the strict parental bonds of her church-going father and passive mother. Falling for a young activist in her class, Elizabeth soon finds herself in the midst of group-home and parental home antics, alternately preparing safe sex kits and dreaming up ever more flamboyant excuses for missing church services. Finally coming out to her parents, in a jailhouse showdown, our young heroine finally turns the corner into adulthood - with all the promise and angst that becoming an adult entails. In the meantime, Ally Sheedy stars as Laurie, a single mother going through a bitter custody battle with her ex-husband. At the urging of her best friend, she begins dating her son's MUCH younger football coach, gaining a new lease on life and learning the true value she brings as mother, friend and lover. Joining the two women in their steam room ritual of introspection is Doris, a newly-in-love widow played by the Oscar nomindated Ruby Dee (A Raisin in the Sun, Do the Right Thing, Jungle Fever, and Their Eyes Were Watching God). The three women, who bond and find tentative strength in each other's stories, finally flourish - away from the watchful eyes of parents, children and ex-lovers. Join filmmaker Kyle Schickner, Ally Sheedy, and Kate Siegel for a Q&A after the film. Directly following the Q&A, join us for the Women's Reel Affirmations Kick-off party at Jackie's!